18 May, 2017

The
ongoing crises in Syria and Venezuela have been described by
mainstream media as the result of failed leadership. In truth, their
troubles are the result of U.S.-led regime change efforts
masquerading as humanitarian aid to control both nations’ lucrative
oil and gas industries.

by
Whitney Webb

Part
2 - Media manipulation used to cast Venezuelan, Syrian leaders as
despots

While both
Maduro and Assad have plenty of reason to be fearful of foreign
intervention, such fears have been used to cast them both as
paranoid, despotic leaders who are intent on killing and oppressing
their own people. Despite the fact that Chávez had been targeted by
a documented coup, led by the United States in concert with
right-wing groups in Venezuela and Colombia, the Western media has
consistently cited Maduro’s “paranoia” as a reason to regard
him with suspicion.

The
Economist, in its 2015 report “Venezuela’s Crackdown: A
Slow-Motion Coup,” stated, “The regime’s favorite charge to
level at hostile politicians is plotting to overthrow the government,
often in conspiracy with the United States.” The Washington
Post wrote that same year that “Maduro accuses business owners
of waging an “economic war” against him and asserts that Ledezma
and other leading opposition figures are part of an international
plot that also includes Colombian paramilitary forces, Venezuelan
expatriates in Miami, right-wing Spanish politicians and the United
States, all bent on toppling his socialist government.”

Neither of
these articles, or the scores more like them, mentioned the failed
coup attempt of 2002.

While Maduro
has been cast as a paranoid despot intent on clinging to power,
Assad’s media coverage has been arguably worse. With headlines like
“Bashar Al Assad: An Intimate Profile of a Mass Murderer,” “North
Korea Congratulates Syria’s Brutal Dictator On His Recent
‘Election’,” and “As He Slaughters Civilians in Aleppo,
Bashar Assad Prepares to Make Nice With Donald Trump,” it almost
seems like Maduro has had it easy.

In a 2015
article published in The Atlantic titled “Bashar al-Assad and the
Devil’s Endgame,” writer Dominic Tierney accused Assad of
“pursuing a cynical, brutal, and risky strategy to cling to
power.”

According to
Tierney, the main cornerstone of this plan is to deliberately aid
Daesh (ISIS) “so that the Syrian dictator looks like a lesser
evil to domestic and foreign audiences.” Never mind that it is
the U.S., not Assad, that has been caught aiding Daesh and that it
has been Syria and its ally Russia who have been the only governments
that have consistently and actively fought Daesh and erased gains
made by the terrorists when only the U.S. coalition was attempting to
fight them.

Another key
facet of the media’s demonization of Assad is the use of the
so-called “humanitarian” group known as the White Helmets.

This group,
above all others, has been relied on by the Western media as the face
of the Syrian opposition in promoting regime change. The photos and
videos the group produces that show them removing children from
rubble are used as proof of the claim that Assad butchers his own
people.

The White
Helmets, however, have been caught faking rescue missions in their
videos. Despite claiming to be impartial and completely independent
from foreign money and influence, the White Helmets also receive
millions in funding from Western governments, including $23 million
from the U.S. alone and millions more from the British government.
The group was founded by a British mercenary and promoted by a top
public relations firm that specializes in war propaganda.

In addition
to this, the group operates almost exclusively in areas held by the
al-Nusra Front, a Syrian al-Qaeda affiliate, with whom they have
collaborated with on a regular basis. Many White Helmets members have
been seen with al-Nusra in assassination videos that show them to be
heavily armed.

This is in
stark contrast to how the media paints the White Helmets as a
humanitarian civil defense group.

The White
Helmets have even popped up in Venezuela. Though lacking an official
name for their organization, the group is composed of “volunteer
medical students” who take care of those who have been wounded in
anti-government protests that have become increasingly violent.
Donning white helmets with green crosses, the group – while still
in its infancy – is already garnering international attention and
being used to accuse Maduro of attempting to murder his own people.